Space Mischief
by June Rosethorn
Summary: When you're a seventeen year old in the middle of space, you just want to have fun, right? That's what Penny C. wants, but here's the problem, she is surrounded by adults. So, what does she do?...
1. Chapter 1

SECTION EIGHT UNDER RECONSTRUCTION

As the precautionary statement flashed across all of the screens on the ships monitors, a father was scolding his daughter. "How in the world did you blow up the reactor, Penny?"

"It wasn't my fault. I didn't know that it blows up when you put things in it," she whined.

Dr. Mac rolled his eyes and reached over to grab a report sheet. He turned back to his desk and began to write out the apology letter. "Talk to Acer. There is no punishment big enough that I can come up with."

Penny got up from the metal chair and shuffled slowly down the long corridor. She flipped her short brown hair and glanced at the reflective material on the space ship's interior. Her chest had grown out nicely, and her tall, slender frame matched it perfectly. Her face was one that screamed, "Challenge me and I destroy anything in front of me." It wasn't easy living on a ship in the middle of nowhere (literally). Especially when you know everyone on the ship. For a seventeen year old living with adults and robots, life was hard.

Deciding that she had spent enough time here, Penny continued down to the bridge, knowing that Acer,the captain was going to give her a tough time, like always.

\\Bridge, Captain's Chair./

Penny ignored glares and snickers from the other crew members as she waltzed up to Acer's chair. Acer was looking at a screen, displaying the damage results from the latest catastrophe. On the tray next to the large man was a manilla folder. By the size of it, Penny knew that it was hers. "Hello, cap't," Penny said softy, letting her voice trail off.

Acer turned to face the small girl. The scar on his cheek and over his right eye seemed to glisten cruelly in the artificial light. The stubble from his chin and head, along with the bulging muscles under his tee-shirt completed the look that he had unintentionally acquired over the years. He picked up the folder with care, as if afraid that it might leap out and bite him, which sounded accurate enough to Penny, since she might do that anyway. "Penny C.," he flipped through the papers, reading the many reports that her father and others have written. "Food fight, hiding parts, dissembling robots, scaring the last robot repairer so that he quit, and thirty other accounts. You do know that you came on five years ago, right?"

"That's six incidents a year," Penny replied happily. Her smile faded as Acer gave her a hard look. "Sorry," she mumbled softly.

Acer threw the folder back on to the tray and sighed. After a long moment of silence, except for the machines on the bridge, he turned back to her. "Your punishment is going to be," Penny gulped, "Working with Puzz on navigation."

"Puzz?" Penny whined, "Puzz is so boring!"

"She has a watchful eye. She also puts people like you to work. You are to go immediately. I'll tell your dad where you are," The captain said firmly, looking the girl in the eye.

Penny grumbled as she left the bridge and headed down to the navigator's office. On the way there, she picked up a metal pipe and began to tap it against the metal plating out of boredom, liking the sound of metal against metal. She slowly made her way to Puzz's workspace.


	2. Chapter 2

Penny opened the door to the navigation room and gasped. The room was a total mess, making her wonder if Scroll,the robot that was supposed to be helping Puzz was actually functioning. The bot popped out of a pile of papers and looked at the young woman. The bot looked a little cube-like, but she (all of the bots had genders, except for F4, the medicine bot) had human-like hands, making sure that she could draw things when necessary. The bot looked at Penny and called, "Miss Puzz, Penny is here."

Puzz looked in from the map room and sighed, "You're a handful, you know that?"

Penny smiled simply and looked at an unfinished map. "Whatcha working on?"

"Don't touch it. It's one of the only maps that I have for the Milky Way system," Puzz growled, making Penny pull away from the map.

Penny gulped, knowing that what she would say next would anger the navigator. "But there are plenty of maps for that system," she said softly.

Puzz glared at the girl harder, making Penny know that she said something wrong. "I need to make it to see it," she whispered, making Penny's hair stand on end.

"I believe that she knows this," Scroll droned, pointing out the obvious.

Puzz took a quick look at the map bot, picked up a map holder and hurled it at the hopeless bot. It connected, and Scroll went down, a little piece of electricity coming out of the processing system. Penny looked at the fallen bot, then back to the navigator. Puzz was looking at both of them with wild eyes. Penny sealed her lips and waited for Puzz's instructions.

Realizing that the girl was waiting for instructions, Puzz sighed and put her hand behind her head. "You're good at electronics, right?" she said, her brown eyes penetrating the scared hazel ones. Penny nodded, not wanting to anger the navigator. "Good. I have some tools in there," she hooked a thumb to the room that she just came from. "Dig around and look, but I swear to God, if you rip one little napkin in there, I will tear you to shreds."

Penny nodded, collected the bot and went into the room, which was smaller and more cramped than the room that she just left. There were maps and papers strewn everywhere, leaving a small path to follow, but barely. Penny had to roll the bot into the larger area in the back, mainly for repairing Mini-Maps- portable map projections made for when the crew were going to go on missions- and Scroll. There were several papers on the floor and some oil and other unidentifiable fluid stains on the papers. "Lovely," Penny muttered and began to rifle through a small cabinet to the left of the working area.

She pulled out some tools and opened up Scroll's control panel. She had several wires and screws loose. Penny fixed that and started the map bot up. She started up, then stalled. Penny sighed and looked in the cranium area, where the motherboard was. There was a wire that had fallen on the unfortunate board, and Penny quickly removed it. Praying that nothing happened, Penny tried to start the bot up again. She breathed a sigh of relief as the bot rattled to life. "Thank you, Penny," Scroll said, and meant it.

"Just don't get into the line of sight again, ok?" Penny replied. Scroll nodded then rolled down the thin path. Penny got up and began to put the tools away. "Let's see, the wrench goes here- hm? What's this?" Penny asked aloud. She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a keyring with keys and key cards. Penny was about to put it back when she noticed something written into one of the cards and keys. "Main navigation room," it read. Penny smiled, looked over her shoulder and slowly pocketed the keys.

Puzz's strict voice cut through the silence, except for the clangs and bangs in Section Eight. "Why are you taking so long?"

"I'm putting away the tools!" Penny replied. She smiled and finished putting away the hardware.

That night, Penny C. barely slept.

\\Outside the main navigation room/

Penny walked up to the door like she normally would. She took a casual look around. Finding the hall empty, Penny abruptly turned to the door and unlocked it. Penny was never allowed to go into this room. Today, her curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to explore a room that she had never been in before.

There was a click and the door slid open. Penny took another quick look around and she went into the room. The door slid silently shut behind her.

\\Bridge, Captain's chair/

_Look at this,_ Acer thought, looking at the _Galactic Gazette, _the largest newspaper in the state. They keep their readers up to date with all of the wars, good deeds, sports, business, planet situations and such. Acer took a sip of his coffee and scrolled down. He noticed that on the planet, Electrix, that there were plenty of ship repair-people looking for work. He though briefly that he should go and recruit one or two of them for Penny's situation.

However, he didn't have enough time to think about it, for a blinking light on his control panel alerted him that Puzz had accessed the main navigation room. "I didn't tell her to change course...," he thought then ordered a crew member to pull up the security footage. On the screen was Penny, playing with the controls.

Acer felt the blood drain from his face. He barked an order out to put an alert up ordering everyone and everything strapped in and bolted down. He sprang from his chair and bolted to Section Five, the navigation section. "I had a bad idea about sticking her with Puzz," Acer said, cursing himself and his bad decisions. He reached the door and used the override key to open it. He burst through and erupted, "What in the Universe are you thinking, Penny?"

Penny let go of the joystick that she was playing with and turned to her captain. _Found out this fast, eh?_ Penny thought. _This is his personal best._ "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Acer growled from deep in his throat. "You have no idea, young lady." He marched over to Penny, grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her to the hall.

While all of that was happening, the joystick that Penny was holding began to tilt towards a planet. By the time that Penny or Acer realized it, the ship was plummeting towards the undetected planet.


	3. Chapter 3

Penny woke up with a groan. This recent "shenanigan" would definitely be going on her file. She felt something underneath her that wasn't metal or carpet. She opened up her eyes and looked at the floor. It wasn't a floor, it was _ground_. With grass and dirt. She got up slowly and looked around timidly.

According to the lessons that she got from her dad, there were trees all around her, growing out of the ground. There was grass and bushes and rocks. Everything a growing teenager needs, except there was something that she hadn't heard that was growing out of the ground. Crystals, yellow and blue crystals growing out of the soil. She looked around one more time and wondered for the first time where Acer was.

She took a quick look around and noticed a large bush and a bit of metal sticking out. Penny walked over and pulled the bushed aside and gasped at the sight behind it. Part of the ship was in pieces and in a twist of metal and wire. She cringed at the sight, thinking about what Acer and her dad would say, _"Penny C. when I get my hands on you..."_ the voice echoed in her head. She realized that it wasn't in her head and actually coming from somewhere around the grove.

Penny looked around, careful not to touch the scalding metal or fried wires. She reached another bush and pulled that aside, too. She saw Acer getting to his feet and looking wearily around. Penny rushed to his side and pulled him to his feet. He swayed and glared at her. "You do realize," he muttered, "that you are _dead_ when we get the ship back together, right?"

"You aren't letting me out of your sight, are you?" Penny asked, glancing at Acer's infuriated eyes, then looking away quickly.

"You know the answer to that," Acer mumbled and went to look at the damage of the ship.

Penny looked at it as well. She looked past the mangled metal and wire. She saw a small line of smoke rising from the back and smelled fuel. "Acer!" she yelled, starting to run from the crash site. "We gotta move! Now!"

Acer looked up at the running Penny. "What now?"

"It's gunna go boom!"

The captain's eyes lit up and he started to run from the soon to be explosion sight. They ran as far as they could, took some refuge under a slab of rock and looked on at the crash site. It looked like a large orange mushroom growing completely out of the soil. It burned off and there was the smell of smoke and dark smoke milling around. After a moment, the blast of wind erupted from the site and blew away the smoke and debris.

The two humans behind the rock looked up timidly and gazed at the crater. What was once a small grove of trees was now a medium-sized crater that completely destroyed the remainder of the ship. "So, probably a bad time to ask, but... what's my punishment this time?"

Acer glared at the young woman with his face shaded over in anger. "Start walking," he said.

"What?"

"You heard me. There has to be a civilization around here somewhere, probably near a river. We need to get to a meeting place and find the others. So, like I said, start walking."

Penny and Acer started walking to the nearest river. To Penny, that seemed impossible. She was completely lost, but not distraught. She wanted to explore as much as she could. Although she knew that it was impossible with Acer watching her every move like a hawk.

After an hour of walking, she heard what sounded like water rushing in the distance. "Hey, Acer, do you hear that?"

Acer looked up from examining the ground, something that he usually does on a new planet. He looked up and gazed at Penny. Then he got a determined look on his face and plowed ahead of her. She followed him, wondering where everyone else was.

"Water!" Penny yelled and ran forward to splash it. Acer grabbed her hand and said harshly, "Are you stupid?"

"Explain and I'll answer you."

"You're lucky that we are on an oxygen based planet with shrubs, but the water is still questionable. We don't know if it's actual water or something else, like acid."

"Oh... I don't think that Dad got to that lesson yet."

"I taught you that."

"Oh."

"Anyway, let's follow it upstream and see if we can find a village or something."

Penny nodded and followed Acer upstream and wondered how much longer she would have to explore before they got to the next location.


	4. Chapter 4

It was late in the day when they arrived at a village. It was a village with gates, meaning they closed them during the night. The gates were still open though, meaning they could pass without any trouble.

The duo approached the gates and the guards glared down at them. They both had spiky hair and ugly faces,like they had seen much more war than anyone else. "Who are you, and what do you want?" the redhead grunted.

"I am Captain Acer Binome, and this is Penny C.. Our ship crashed on this planet and we would like to have some help repairing it. In return we will help your people as much as we possibly can," Acer replied calmly. Penny looked expectantly up at the guards.

The brown haired guard shouted something into the village, waited and turned back to the strangers. "How bad is the damage?" he asked, equally as calm, though somewhere in the voice was the fierce bark of a warrior.

Acer took no time in responding, "I am not entirely sure. You see, upon landing the ship tore apart. I have no way of knowing how bad the damage is. I have no communication with my crew."

"Are they a doctor and a navigator?" Redhead asked.

"Yes. Dr. Mac and Puzz, why?" Acer asked.

All the while, Penny was gazing at the fence surrounding the village. It was completely made of crystals. The energy cracked and sparked, making her cringe every time it went off. Then she gazed inside the village area. Her eyes widened while she cried out, "Dad!" She started to run forward, but Acer held her back. "Will you accept us to enter?"

Both guards looked at each other then over at the group. A very old man looked up and nodded. He was balding, but the hair that he had left was white and gray and crimped, like he didn't care what it looked like anymore. He was wearing a robe and a sash. His body was hunched over, and he seemed to look through the newcomers. The guards nodded them through and continued to keep guard.

Acer and Penny stopped in front of the old man. He was a few feet away from the doctor and navigator. He looked them up and down before saying anything. Despite his appearance, he was a strong speaker. "What do you want?" he asked bluntly, ignoring the introductions.

Acer replied as calmly as before. "If it pleases you, I'd like to take my crew-" he nodded to Dr. Mac and Puzz behind the old man, "-and repair my ship."

"Do you have any identification?" The man retorted.

"Yes, I do. It's in my pocket." Acer reached into his pocket and pulled out his holo-identification disk. He pressed a button and the holographic image appeared, showing Acer as a younger man, without the stubble, but still with the scar. He looked nicer in those days, before he met Penny. The man gazed at it and glanced at one of the guards. The guard came to the man's side. "Get this checked," he ordered. He looked back at Acer and Penny. "I am Leader. That is what everyone calls me around here, and that is what you will call me, too. You may talk amongst yourselves as your information is being checked." Leader walked away slowly and the group got together.

Puzz was the first to speak. "Doc, do I have permission to severely hurt your daughter?" Puzz's look sent shivers up and down Penny's spine. She wasn't joking. Her arm was in a sling, and she had a white eye patch over her right eye. Her left eye showed even more anger than both of the eyes put together.

Mac nodded and watched in awe as Puzz chased around the little trouble maker. "I'm amazed that she can even walk. She was pinned under the cot and twisted her ankle. She was in there in the first place for throwing something at Scroll. Again." he added.

"Doesn't surprise me," Acer replied. "How bad is the medical wing?"

"I can salvage as much as I can, but upon approaching the plant, a hole burned out one part of the wall. I have no idea how much that will take to repair it."

"I don't even think that this planet has the correct metal for this," Acer replied as he looked at Puzz taking up a spear and hurling at the defenseless girl. Luckily Penny dodged it in time.

"Sir, what about her? What will happen?"

Acer sighed. The girl had no where else to go, and they couldn't just dump her at the next oxygen based planet with vegetation. Plus, she was good at repairing broken bots. "I don't know. She's still too young to be on the repair team, and even so, I don't think that their hearts or their minds could take working with her." He rubbed the back of his neck and continued to contemplate the matter.

Penny on the other hand was too busy running to be thinking about anything else. Puzz was close behind her, swearing in so many languages, Penny could only recognized a couple. Several of the guards tried to calm Puzz, but nothing had worked. In fact she had taken their weapons and thrown them at the girl. Luckily her throwing arm was in the sling, and she couldn't aim. Although her power was unnaturally high. "GET BACK HERE!" she bellowed, making her prey run even faster.

The chase continued into an alley way, blocking off the only way to escape with the crystal electricity fence crackling away in front of her. Puzz appeared at the entrance, glaring at the trapped girl. "Now I have you. Come here so I can give you your punishment..." she droned ominously.

Penny frantically looked for an escape. Seeing none, she prepared for the worst. She closed her eyes and waited. Then she felt a person embracing her. She opened her eyes and saw a boy in front of her. Another one was hugging her. There was a faint discoloration around them.

He was just about her age and both about the same height. They were obviously siblings, and they both had a serious look on their faces. The one who was hugging her seemed to be younger. The other one was in a fighting stance, getting ready to fight the enraged navigator. "If I were you, I wouldn't."

The navigator hissed and walked off, sulking. Penny let out a breath and looked at both of the saviors. "Thanks, I owe you one."

"He he, your hair looks funny," the boy hugging her giggled and let her go.

Penny grabbed a piece of hair from her ponytail and glanced at it. It was frizzy and looked like she was electrocuted by an electric chair she heard her father talking about. "Thanks," she said flatly. She perked up and said, "I'm Penny."

"I'm Lex and that's Shock," the taller and older one said.

"We're twins!" Shock exclaimed happily.

"I can see that," Penny replied looking at the two in wonder.

Lex looked at the human and said, "We'd better get you back to the others." Penny sighed and agreed.

Later that night, after the group had been cleared, they were staying at Shock and Lex's house. Shock was thrilled to have the visitors, but his brother was coming off as upset. He kept glaring at the others, especially his brother, who had invited the group to stay over. Once he got a free minute, he talked to his brother. "Why did you invite them over?"

"They didn't have anywhere to go and we had some extra room. Besides, Mom and Dad don't mind, they love them," Shock said happily explaining his reasoning to his brother.

Lex sighed and shook his head. He was about to say something when there was a scream pierced the atmosphere outside the house. Everyone froze and looked up. Penny, who was wrestling with the boys' father went over to the window and timidly gazed outside. Shock and Lex joined her.

Some of the crystal from the surrounding forest had come alive and were barging into the houses and taking children. Their ages ranged from toddlers to young adults.

The residents inside the house didn't have enough time to hide or even breathe before a crystal creature burst in, crackled in its own language and discharged, blinding everyone in the room.

A moment later there was a scream in Penny's ear and the sound of crashing glass. Five minutes later most of the flash had disappeared from view and everyone looked around in awe. Penny voiced what everyone was thinking, "What just happened?"

Lex looked around and slowly asked, "Where's Shock?"

Shock was nowhere in sight.


	5. Chapter 5

After the invasion happened, the entire village had an immediate meeting. Everyone was gathered, which wasn't very much. Just a handful of villagers and the space explorers. Everyone was in a panic and angry. Some were even blaming the newcomers.

Penny looked around and wondered how this could have happened. Leader was talking with a guard and nodded slowly. He turned and addressed the village. He spoke softly but effectively, "This was caused by Dr. Kei."

Several people gasped, others nodded like they were expecting this, and others started to talk amongst themselves. Leader waited until they were done talking before he continued. "This has gone on long enough! We will send our strongest warrior to fight against her."

Acer spoke up, "Who is this Dr. Kei?"

Leader gazed at him and replied, "She is a mad scientist that lives in a cave a mile off of the marsh. She has always been terrorizing us in order to get the adequate information that she needs for her continuous experiments."

Puzz rolled her eyes and muttered, "Mad scientist, yeah. And why _shouldn't_ she be in a cave that is away from a marsh? That's where all of the mad scientists live."

Acer ignored the bad-tempered navigator. "What can we do to help?" he asked. His eyes were serious, like always.

Leader nodded and looked the crowd over. "I will lend your strongest warrior some weapons and he will go with Lex. Lex is our strongest, besides Shock."

Penny looked at Lex. His face was set in a grim line and he was looking forward, staring at the wall. She couldn't imagine what he was going through, let alone what he was thinking. Acer, who was next to her, replied to the old man, "I will have to talk with my crew before I can answer you." The next thing Penny knew, she was being whisked outside and huddling in a tight circle with the others.

"Who wants to go?" Acer asked and looked around at the others.

Penny, being Penny, naturally raised her hand and waited to be called on. Acer, being Acer, ignored her and looked around. Puzz glared at Penny and said, "I would go, but my aiming arm is in a sling."

Penny lowered her hand and glared back at the navigator. "It wasn't my fault that you threw Scroll across the room."

"You threw Scroll? I thought that you threw something at her," Acer put in, glancing at Penny, then Puzz.

"Yeah," Penny replied, smiling smugly and thinking, _Puzz got in trouble, Puzz got in trouble._ "Chucked her across the room. I was surprised that she survived that."

"Penny, now is not the time," Dr. Mac put in, glancing at Penny.

"Sorry," Penny apologized.

"Anyway, since Puzz is out of commission, I guess I'll go," Acer said.

"Hey," the seventeen-year-old protested. "What about me?"

"Not right now, Penny," Acer dismissed her and went back inside.

Penny huffed and went back to the twins' house. She wouldn't be ignored that easily.

While Penny was planning her next destructive streak, Acer, Dr. Mac and Puzz were talking to Leader. Mostly Acer,though. Leader to leader. "Leader, I'll go with Lex."

"Are you sure?" Leader asked, slowly looking the space captain up and down, as if looking for some sort of deformation or something. "Dr. Kei can manipulate the crystals, making it extremely hard to get to her and defeat her."

"Leader," Lex spoke up for the first time. His eyes broke from the wall that they were looking at. They were determined and steady. "Captain Acer and I will talk about strategy. Hopefully we can come up with something soon."

"Yes, please. And would you mind showing him to armory? I imagine he is short of a few weapons."

"Yes, sir."

The village was dismissed and everyone went back home and prayed for their youngest. After everyone went to bed early, Acer and Lex talked about the strategy. They decided that it would be best if Lex short-circuited the crystals and Acer went after Dr. Kei. Two hours after the people had gone to sleep, the two warriors went to the armory and got weapons. Acer ordered Lex to take something and despite his insisting that he would be fine, Lex reluctantly took a spear. Meanwhile, Acer took a stun-gun, a laser-gun and an energy blade, just in case.

They went back to the house to grab Acer's bag and say good-bye to Lex's mom and dad. "Bring him back safely," said a tearful mother.

Acer picked up his hiking bag and grunted under the weight. "What the heck did I put in here, a space ore?" he muttered. After readjusting the straps and complaining about the weight, he and Lex set off for the evil doctor's cave.

Acer wasn't one for complaining, but his bag was threatening to take out his back. He was going slow, and every few minutes Lex had to wait for him to catch up. "Do you want me to carry that, Captain?"

Acer shook his head and stopped for a breath. "Its mine, and I don't want to be responsible for a kid's back."

The older twin nodded and started off again. "Captain, we're half way there."

Acer nodded, "Lead the way, kid."

\\Dr. Kei's cave/

Acer and Lex were in the vegetation opposite the cave entrance. There were lights and sparks coming out of it, and a shadow could be seen of a slim woman with spiky hair. Acer took that as Dr. Kei. He looked at Lex and saw the determination in his face. Acer looked back at the cave and asked, "Why is she doing this?"

Lex shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the cave. "I don't know. I'll distract them and you'll sneak in, ok?"

Acer almost nodded when the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He looked behind him and gasped. A crystal creature was there and aiming at Lex. "Watch out!" he exclaimed, dropped his hiking bag and dove to protect the boy. Acer got hit in the shoulder and fell to the ground. Lex immediately took over and threw an electrical attack at the creature, short-circuiting it.

Once the creature was taken care of, Lex turned back to Acer. "Captain, are you ok?"

At that exact moment, Penny gave a small groan and crawled out of the hiking bag. "I'm so cramped... What's going on?" she asked as she saw Lex and Acer look over in annoyed awe.

"Penny," Acer started painfully, holding his injured shoulder. "Why are you here?"

Penny just smiled maliciously.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'll ask again," Acer said, still looking amazed at the girl who had crawled out of the heavy hiking bag-_ And now I know why its so heavy,_ Acer though, feeling his eye twitch. "Why are you here, Penny?"

"I don't know," she said, looking around in awe. "I wanted to take a nap and I crawled in the comfiest looking place and started sleeping." She looked at the shoulder that he was holding and noticed that the fabric had a large hole in it and he was holding it. The skin was black. "Captain, what happened to your shoulder?"

"Crystal creature," he replied and looked at Lex. "Can you do this on your own?"

Lex reluctantly shook his head. "No, sir. This is a two person job."

Acer closed his eyes and breathed slowly. He managed to get up and peer over the shrubbery. Then he turned back to the kids. He looked directly at Penny and said, "Penny listen to me _very_ carefully. I need someone with destructive power like to go in and take care of the doctor. Lex is going to go in first to take care of the guards and you go and take care of the doctor. Repeat what I said and say if you agree or disagree."

Penny knew this routine. He made everyone repeat his instructions and agree to the mission or disagree. He said this to everyone who was going on a big mission. "Destructive power, Lex goes in first he takes care of the guards, I go in second and take care of the doctor. I got it, but I need some weapons."

Acer used his good arm to unbuckle his belt which had the weapons that he borrowed from the armory. "I want them in good condition." Then he thought for a moment and asked, "Do you even know how to use that?"

Penny accepted the belt and attached it to her own waist. After adjusting it for a moment, she answered, "Yeah. Dad showed me how."

The captain nodded and looked around. Then he refocused on the kids and said sternly, looking at Penny the whole time, "Be safe, think ahead and please, _please_, for my sake at least, don't destroy anything crucial."

Penny nodded and smiled. Lex nodded and started to the cave. "After I bring the fight outside, you go in, ok?"

Penny nodded and pulled the laser gun out with one hand and the blade with the other. "Got it."

Lex didn't say anything as he went in. After a moment, there was the sound of electricity and clattering. Two minutes later and Lex came rushing out with about three dozen crystal creatures chasing after him.

Penny took her chance and dashed in, keeping to the shadows, just in case. She soon realized that the passages inside the cave was a maze, and Penny was hopelessly lost. She took another corner and looked at what looked like a prison wing. She slowed down and looked around. At the far end she heard crying. _Crying?_ she thought and went to investigate.

She crept up to the cell and looked in. Then she jumped back as a bit of lightning shot past her and exploded into the wall. "Shock, I think that you missed," a child's voice followed.

"Not for long," Shock's voice said after. "C'mon, coward!"

"Shock!" Penny called as loudly as she could without attracting attention. "It's me, Penny!"

"Penny?"

"Yes. I'm taking out Dr. Kei as soon as I find her," she stepped in front of the bars and looked at them. "Can you get out?"

"What about Lex?" Shock asked, looking at the girl in hope.

"He's taking care of the guards. Now, can you get out of here?"

A small boy spoke up, "No! We'd already be back at the village if we could get out."

"Sorry, you're right," she took another look at the bars and activated the energy blade. "Stand back. I'll cut them down." She waited for everyone to step away and let her destructive habits take over. She smiled maliciously and swiped a couple of times at the crystal bars. The bars were cut into several pieces. Penny took a breath and looked at the prisoners. They were staring at her in amazement. Then they were snapped out of the trance and rushed out. "Do you know how to get out?"

Several children shook their heads and looked at her in hope. Penny sighed and looked at Shock. He thought for a minute and said, "I can track Lex's energy waves and get out that way."

The female teen nodded. "Good. Now all I have to do is to find where Dr. Kei is."

One of the little girls pointed in the opposite direction and said, "I felt her bad energy over there."

Penny looked at the girl then at Shock. "Is she really that powerful?"

Shock nodded and with wishes to Penny finding Dr. Kei and the children getting out, they went on their ways.

\\Dr. Kei's main cavern/

After much cursing and many wrong turns, the exhausted Penny reached the entrance of Dr. Kei's cavern. She looked at the looming mouth-like entrance and wondered what the evil doctor was like. With the energy blade in one hand and the laser gun in the other, Penny peeked in.

It was dark and dank in the middle cavern. There was one light at each corner and no natural light. There was a woman in the very center of the cave. She was rushing around, picking thing up off of tables and such. Her hair was crazy, as if she didn't have enough time to take care of herself. In fact, her whole body seemed unkempt, she was skinny, pale and her clothes- mostly a lab coat, shirt and pants- were a tattered and dirty wreck. "Come in, come in," she rattled as she continued to rush around.

Penny walked in slowly and didn't take her eyes off of Dr. Kei. Still with her back to her, Dr. Kei asked, "What is it? The villagers will be here quickly." When Penny didn't respond, Dr. Kei whipped around and glared at the girl. "And who might you be?"

Penny smiled a little and responded, "I'm Penny C.. I'm here representing the village to kick your butt, ok?"

Dr. Kei smirked then laughed outright. "They sent a _girl_? Aw, how sweet. Are you going to throw your make-up at me and try to suffocate me with your training-"

Her taunt was cut short by the seventeen-year-old space cadet in training shooting at a large stalagmite behind the evil doctor. "Don't mock me," she responded coldly.

"Oh, she knows how to shoot," Kei said, reaching down and opening a secret compartment in the wall. She straightened and wielded a heavy bazooka. With a crazy look in her eye, she continued, "I know how to shoot, too."

Penny's eyes widened as she looked down the barrel of the large gun. "Crap," she muttered.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Good bye, intruder," Kei said as she slung the bazooka over her shoulder and pulled the trigger. There was a large explosion and part of the wall came tumbling down. Kei recovered from the shock, straightened and went to a table. She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote about her short battle.

Unseen, the seventeen-year-old emerged from the shadows and aimed at the doctor. Convinced that the doctor was pure evil and was not paying attention, Penny pulled the trigger on the small laser gun. The bead of energy shot out at Kei and she was hit. Penny remained where she was to see what the doctor would do.

Kei fell and remained still for a moment. After a while, when Penny thought that she was dead, Kei got to her feet and seemed to look better than before the shot. The bags under her eyes were gone, and even the wound on her back had disappeared. "Do you really think that was going to take me out?" she asked the young fighter. She turned and sneered at Penny. "I am made out of _electricity_. I can't die from _that._"

"Crap," Penny muttered again and took out her energy blade.

Kei scoffed and glared at the blade and the girl. "If laser guns won't work, why do you think that a laser blade will?" She charged at Penny.

Penny blocked the attack and slashed at Kei's arm, drawing blood. "Do you think that that'll actually work? Taunting me? I've lived on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere with only disgusting men who laugh at their burps and threaten me with my life to stay out of their quarters. I'm used to the taunts. I am immune to taunts."

Kei looked at the wound in amazement. "How... how did you do that?"

"Hurt you?" Penny asked, looking at the setting on the blade. "Uh, wait, right here. Acer must have set it to water jets instead of laser before he left! He's so smart."

While Penny was admiring her captain, Kei was getting angrier and angrier. "Pay attention," she yelled and punched Penny hard in the stomach.

Penny reeled back and clutched her stomach. She didn't look like it, but Dr. Kei was actually very strong. Not nearly as strong as Acer and Puzz, but strong none-the-less. Penny composed herself and looked her opponent in the eyes. She slipped her gun back in its holster and gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands. A dangerous flicker crossed her eyes as she glared at the doctor. "You crossed the wrong teenager."

After that, there was no more words. Only actions. Penny and Kei lunged at each other, causing dust to fly and the opponents to sweat. Kei kept using her lightning to paralyze Penny, but it never lasted for very long. She kept moving and didn't let her opponent land a hit, like Acer told her.

Eventually both started to tire and both decided that it would be a good time to strike the final blow. At this point, Penny's eyes were darting around, trying to see what she could use to her advantage.

As she was scoping the area, Kei was charging up. She called in a couple of her crystal creatures. They scuttled in from a crack and stood obediently by Kei's feet. The evil doctor smirked, leaned down, placed her hands on their heads and concentrated. The creatures completely yellow bodies flickered and returned into normal energy crystals. Kei, on the other hand was glowing with energy and enjoying every second of it.

Penny noticed this and glanced behind the glowing Kei. _That'll have to do, _she thought. Before Kei made her move, the destructive girl launched herself at Kei and feinted to the right. Dr. Kei didn't see this coming and swiped at the girl. Penny kept going and swung her jet blade at a strange looking rock, propped up against another one which looked like it was holding the whole thing up. She sliced both of the rocks and smiled at the following sound of cracking.

\\Acer, Lex and Shock outside the cave/

Shock had gone to the village to return the children to their parents, promising that he would be back. Lex had finished fighting off the creatures and was sitting with Acer who was grimly looking at the cave entrance. After a half hour of silently waiting, Lex reluctantly asked, "Why did you send her in?"

Acer didn't take her eyes off of the mouth-like opening as he responded, "She is the fourth best fighter on our ship. First is Puzz, then me then Penny. She has what it takes to be the captain of the ship, with a little more work. She is also the most destructive being that I know. And that's compared to the Splosion tribe. Most destructive culture of them all."  
>Lex whistled in admiration and looked back at the cave. "She's that... strong?"<p>

Acer shook his head. "Not strong, destructively observant."

Shock appeared and panted. "Did I miss anything?"

His brother was about to reply as the ground began to shake. They all tensed, waiting for something to come. Shock was the first to notice the cave rumbling. "The cave! It's the cave!"

All three men looked at the cave in wonder and awe. Dust began to form at the base and the rumbling increased. After several moments, a figure appeared at the entrance, dragging something behind it. The men got into fighting stances and prepared themselves. The figure came closer and closer to reveal a filthy Penny dragging an unconscious Dr. Kei. She looked up and flashed a happy smile. "Hiya guys!" She chirped over the rumbling of the rocks.

Acer, Lex and Shock stood there in amazement and wonder, their mouths wide open.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Ok, ok. I'll tell it again," Penny said as she was surrounded by the young children of the village, begging to be told the story again. "I entered the entrance of Kei's lair and faced her- after rescuing you, of course..."

Mac was leaning on his hand as he listened to Penny tell the kids about how she "saved the village." Acer, who was sitting next to him, laughed lightly. His arm was in a sling. "Who knew she was that observant..." he muttered aloud. "To find a loose rock, and use it to her advantage? Brilliant..."

Puzz scoffed. _I have to admit, she has potential,_ she thought for a moment, then turned back to her normal, grumpy self. "I still say that she got lucky."

"Stop pouting. You're just upset that you couldn't do it yourself," Acer laughed. Mac chuckled and looked at the twins. Since Shock got back, they had been talking amongst themselves, whispering and looking at the others and back again. Not wanting to ask, Mac turned back to Penny who was standing on the seat and demonstrating how she destroyed the cave. "Off."

Penny jumped down and exclaimed "Sorry!" before going back to her story. Leader came in and stood at the podium. They all were in the meeting hall where the village met meetings. Lex and Shock joined the wrinkled old man at the podium and waited for him to start. Leader waited patiently for everyone to settle down and listen. Eventually everyone was quiet except for a baby in the back row. "First and foremost, I must thank everyone in the village for being so patient. We all have been through so much, but now our troubles are gone, thanks to Acer and his crew." Penny pouted and looked the other way. "We all must thank Penny C. especially. She is the one who took out Kei and ended her terrorizing."

Slowly a small applause started up and it piked to a dull roar. Penny rubbed the back of her neck and giggled while blushing. She never had applause directed at her before.

The applause died down after a minute or so and Leader started again. "As a special thanks for a job well done, we, the Electrikians, will repair your ship. No payment necessary."

Acer looked up and smiled. "We accept your humble offer. But we'll have Penny help you out too. After all," he gave a hard glare at Penny, "she did crash it in the first place."

Leader nodded. "And one more thing before we celebrate. Alexander and Shocker, in thanks of saving everyone would like to join your crew."

Acer looked taken aback. Then looked at the twins faces. They were serious, staring straight forward and standing at attention. "Not to sound inconsiderate, but what can they do?"

At this point Lex looked at Acer with strict, unblinking brown eyes. "We can repair anything on the ship without a problem."

Shock joined in too. "We can also do any upgrades on anything."

Acer looked at the boys for a long moment. Then he smiled, "You're going to have to take a test for repairmen and the Star-Crew, but I think you're in."

The boys stood at attention and yelled, "Yes sir!" simultaneously.

Leader gazed at the crowd. "Are you all ready to work?"

Everyone perked up and exclaimed some form of yes. Acer picked it up and replied in equal enthusiasm, "Then let's get to work!"

o.o.o.o.

After much toiling, sweating, panting and not enough breaks, Penny and the others finally finished the ship a week later. There was one more bedroom for the boys. By that time everyone from the crash had conjugated in the village and helped with the repairs a little before getting yelled at by Acer. Penny was more exhausted than the others, but managed to stay awake for the good-bye.

Everyone from the village wished all of them a good exploration, especially the boys. Everyone was crying and secretly wishing that they wouldn't go. Leader explained for everyone that since Kei was jailed, there was less need for an army anymore. "But that doesn't mean that we won't have one. We still have some threats out there," he rattled, looking at the surroundings for a moment before turning back to the crowd.

"Are we ready to go?" Acer asked from the ship. Puzz was checking out the navigation equipment, making sure that everything was in place. Mac was in the infirmary, checking the supplies. Lex and Shock were saying their final good-byes and promising to keep in touch. Penny was sitting at the doorway and repairing Scroll, who had an eye missing and an arm dangling at her side.

Lex and Shock went to the ship and boarded, while Penny had gotten into the safety of the ship and buckled up near the window, waving at everyone below. Five minutes after everyone was on board, the ship started up and slowly took off, heading towards their next misadventure.

THE END...?


End file.
